If number crunching is second nature to you, an accounting career may be just right for you! Among other things, an accounting career also puts you in the position of ensuring that your company is in line with the latest developments in tax and financial laws.

Charting a career path down the accounting road is a lucrative and rewarding option for many. Tax and financial laws keep changing all the time - and it is one of the responsibilities of an accountant to make sure that his company matches their financial management style to comply with these laws.

However, within the scope of accounting careers, there are several options that you can pursue - sort of like a specialization within the specialization. The top five accounting career options are: becoming a staff accountant, or an internal auditor, or an external auditor, or a compliance executive, and finally a financial analyst.

Staff accountants are amongst the top most career options available in accounting careers. Staff accountants are the key people maintaining the accounts within an organization. They process the basic information right from journal entries and assist with creating the different financial reports required for businesses. Staff accountants also need to have basic and working knowledge of the different laws and compliance requirements. Usually, a staff accountant has a Bachelor’s Degree and has experience in public accounting. The salaries on offer may range from approximately $41,000 to $52,000.

Internal auditors should ideally be Certified Internal Auditors, along with having a Bachelor’s Degree and up to 2 years of work experience in a relevant field. The Internal Auditor performs important functions like controlling costs and meeting compliance requirements. An Internal Auditor is also responsible for maintaining operations efficiency, reliability of financial reporting, along with fraud determination and investigation. They can also advise the Board of Directors on how to better execute their responsibilities. Salaries on offer for Internal Auditors may range from approximately $77,000 to $101,000.

External Auditors are usually people from outside the company who inspect a company’s accounts and records and make required recommendations. External Auditors report on whether a company’s accounts are maintained correctly and not fraudulent. These are independent people who perform an exhaustive appraisal of a company’s accounting processes, procedures and records. An External Auditor garners a lot of respect from his colleagues and peers. Salaries for an External Auditor range from approximately $48,000 to $63,000.

A Compliance Executive will ensure that a company is following the different guidelines laid down by the law in maintaining their accounting processes and records. A Compliance Executive also helps companies in the process of achieving compliance with the different legislations in effect. The Compliance Executives report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Salaries for Compliance Executives usually start at approximately $111,000 and may go on to $180,000 - depending upon the size of the company.

Financial Analysts help company executives and officials with different budgeting and forecasting analyses that are required to plan their initiatives and to increase profitability. They are also often referred to as Investment Analysts or Securities Analysts. Financials like prices, costs, expenses and taxes are taken into consideration for determining the company’s value and for projecting future trends and earnings. Salaries for Financial Analysts may range from $55,000 to $73,000 - depending on the size of the company.

With all these top accounting career options, you will be sure to succeed in your career path!